Forge Capsule

Supply Chain Optimization: Network Flow and Stochastic Demand

Supply chain: suppliers → manufacturers → distributors → retailers. Network flow: min-cost flow formulation, Ford-Fulkerson, cycle-canceling. Bullwhip effect: demand variability amplification upstream. EOQ (economic order quantity): Q*=√(2DS/H). Newsvendor model: single-period, stochastic demand — critical ratio CR=p/(p+h). Safety stock: z*σ_L where σ_L is demand std dev over lead time. Vendor-managed inventory (VMI): supplier controls replenishment. JIT (Just-in-time): minimize inventory, Toyota TPS origin. Multi-echelon optimization: METRIC model. Disruption risk: COVID showed single-source vulnerabilities. Linear programming formulation: CPLEX/Gurobi. Forge: supply chain knowledge with provenance chains fro...